“I Can’t Train Because…” – Philip’s Story

Strength Training with Cancer

On January 6, 2018 a large tumor appeared on the side of Philip’s head. After seeing a doctor, the tumor had to be surgically removed. After the surgery, Philip then had to undergo radiation treatment to keep the cancer from coming back.

Philip was inspired by John Wilson’s story that he heard on our podcast about his journey of strength training to survive cancer and the benefits of exercise during chemotherapy. Philip was amazed a man could do what John did under the barbell.

The Decision to Fight… and Train

Philip faced chemotherapy as a challenge he had to beat. First, he trained with Matt Reynolds at his home in Springfield to get some in-person coaching. He then tried to continue training the Starting Strength method on his own, and quickly realized he needed a coach to help him during this extremely difficult time.

On May 2, 2018, Philip reached back out to Matt and signed up for BLOC. On May 8, just six days later, he started radiation treatment. At first, it wasn’t so bad. However, a few weeks later, Philip hit rock bottom. He couldn’t sleep, the Valsalva made his face hurt and he felt discouraged. But he stuck with it.

Beating Cancer with Strength

Soon after, the side effects of his radiation treatment began to reverse. Philip’s doctor was amazed. He didn’t understand why the side effects were reversed.

Philip’s theory: strength is a wonderful thing.

Throughout his treatment, Philip was able to not only train, but add weight to the barbell! He listened to his coaches, rested enough, slept, ate good food and focused on health and recovery.

Strength Matters

Philip’s family has started lifting after watching his transformative experience from the power of strength. His 90 year old mother-in-law is lifting, too.

When people tell Philip, “I can’t train because…” he encourages them to get under the barbell. We all have a choice and Philip chose strength.

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